Abstract

Minority Experience in Mixed Juries: Exploring Predictors of Juror Satisfaction Including Jury (Group), Juror (Individual), and Case-Level Variables

Lyssette Chavez
University of Nevada, Reno
Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies
Victoria Springer
University of Nevada, Reno
Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies
Carlene Gonzalez
University of Nevada, Reno

The interest in jury racial composition and its impact in the courtroom has become a much researched and hotly debated subject in the social sciences. From issues regarding the Constitutional right to a fair trial and adjudication by a jury of one's peers to the concern with fundamental concepts of justice, fairness, and the potential for juror bias, myriad studies have been conducted examining factors which impact the verdicts of mock jurors . This study adds to this cannon of research by evaluating the subjective experience of jurors that have participated in actual cases while serving on mixed-race juries. By conducting a secondary data analysis of the "Juror discussions about evidence, 1997-1999" study conducted by Hannaford, Hands, and Munsterman (1999) , this study explores the relationship between predictors including, but not limited to, juror comfort engaging in group discussion, concern with influence from other jurors, and jury conflict as factors contributing to overall juror satisfaction with the verdict. Beginning with preliminary analysis using ordinary least squares regression and path modelling techniques, this study suggests that White jurors differ from Minority jurors vis-à-vis a differential pattern and weighting of predictors. These results are further refined using hierarchical linear modelling techniques to take into account the potential interaction of group, individual, and case-level factors in order to provide further insight into the jury dynamics that contribute to minority satisfaction with mixed-race verdicts. Social psychological theories regarding group behavior, jury decision making, and justice-related implications of the findings are also discussed.